Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Aloha Hawai'i

According to the Honolulu Advertiser the Hawai'ian island of O'ahu may see bike-sharing's launch as early as June 1. Momentum B-cycle, as the program will be called, will offer 100 bikes at 10 solar-powered stations. "The start-up cost is about $400,000 and will be privately funded", said Nguyen Le, owner of Momentum MultiSport Hawaii, the company that is behind the program's development.

The article states "the first half-hour of ride time will be free. The next half-hour costs riders $2, the next 30 minutes is $5 and so on. Billing will stop at $100, but if a bike isn't returned within 48 hours, the user's credit card will be billed the cost of the bike — currently $900."

"Another thing working in favor of Momentum B-cycle," says the article, "is the planned rail system. The city's master bike plan, scheduled to be released next summer, is expected to include bike paths near rail stops,' Chris Sayers, bicycle coordinator for the [Honolulu] Department of Transportation said.

" 'If rail is on schedule and the master bike plan is implemented, the two could come together with bike-sharing to make it easier to use mass transit,' " Sayers said. " 'With bike sharing you need critical mass to make it work. I know if it were available when transit comes I could see taking the rail to get to Kapolei, then bike-share over to the West O'ahu campus.' "

B-cycle is the newest product of healthcare provider Humana, which has improved upon its Freewheelin' bike-sharing system which was used at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in the U.S. during this past August and September.

The key to the program will be placement of the racks. Think along the lines of high density corridors. Although Da Bus has a good grid, I know there are many people who would rather bike that 1-3 mile range than wait for Da Bus.